Flying Officer Brian Ross Appleton Coulter 401914
RAAF
by Robert Simpson
Brian Ross Appleton Coulter was born in Ballarat Victoria, the only son and child to Graham Coulter and Violet Alice Palmer, on 22nd August 1910. Their story is noted in Graham’s records. After WW1 Graham did not go home, so Brian was brought up by his mother, with the help of others. His life and war stories are wonderfully covered by his eulogy and his own story of his involvement in the war, so this will be a summary of his life with reference to those stories needed.
He is listed in the 1931 and 1936 Electoral Rolls as living at Geelong Grammar School in Geelong North and he was the schoolmaster. In 1938 Brian was in England and he left there on the Rimutaka on 8th December, bound for Australia. He was listed as a single schoolmaster of 28 years old with his address in the United Kingdom as c/o National Bank of Australia.
Brian enlisted in the RAAF on 26th April 1941 and listed his wife as next of kin (although they had not married yet!). He was given the service number 401914.
Brian married Valda Beatrice Simpson on 15th June 1942 in Victoria. Valda had been born on 16th July 1903 in Victoria, a daughter to James Robert Douglas Simpson and Mabel Annie Davey. Before the war she was living in Camberwell, Victoria and was a nurse. Her father had been born in New Zealand and eventually became a storekeeper in Victoria.
The 1942 Electoral Roll still had Brian as a schoolmaster at Geelong Grammar even though he was in the RAAF. On 14th October 1942 he was involved in a flying accident which occurred at Laverton Aerodrome in the afternoon. It was a Lockheed Hudson A16-224 of 13 Squadron. Brian, a Sergeant at the time, was not flying the plane which crashed from 10 feet and caught fire due to the plane stalling as a result of the port engine failing. Brian and two other Sergeants were slightly injured, but the pilot, P/O H C McDonald was seriously injured and Staff Sergeant D M Cowan of the AIF was dangerously injured. Apparently he was a stowaway on the plane. The plane was written off. He was discharged on 6th February 1945 as a Flying Officer with 7th Service Flying Training School.
In 1946 their only daughter and child, Susan, was born.
The 1949 and 1954 rolls have them still at Geelong Grammar and he was still schoolmaster.
In April 1957 they went on a cruise from Sydney to England on the Otranto, arriving in London on 12th May 1957. He was listed as a teacher and Valda as a housewife and they left their address while there as c/o National Bank of Australia, Strand. On the record they intended to stay for 9 months as tourists, but on 15th November 1957 they left on the Himalaya back to Sydney.
The 1963 and 1968 rolls have them living at 13 Jackson Street Toorak and Brian was still a schoolmaster. From 1972 to 1980 rolls they were living at Breens Terrace, Ferny Creek, Sherbrooke and he was a teacher.
Valda passed away in February 1996 and Brian on 25th August 1997 in Ferntree Gully, Victoria.
Susan was also a teacher and married Lothar Oelze sometime after 1980. Lothar was born in 1939 and passed away in 2009.
His medals are 1939-45 Star, 1939-45 War Medal and Australian Service Medal.
This is a copy of his eulogy.
ANZAC Biographies
On our website you will find the biographical details of ANZAC (as well as British) servicemen & women
whose medals or other memorabilia form part of the collection belonging to the
Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum,
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia.